Source : the age
Since he entered parliament a decade ago, Andrew Hastie has been spoken about as a potential future Liberal leader. The telegenic former Special Forces troop commander is one of the Coalition’s most senior frontbenchers, an articulate communicator who should be an asset in an election campaign in which national security is playing a major role.
Yet the 42-year-old has barely featured on the national stage in the campaign, even as the Coalition goes on the attack over a reported push by Russia to base long-range aircraft in Indonesia and accuses Labor of failing to spend enough on defence to keep the nation safe.
Andrew Hastie’s only media appearance with Dutton on the campaign trail was more than two weeks ago.Credit: James Brickwood
Hastie has not conducted any national media interviews since the election campaign began on March 31, and has appeared only once alongside Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on the campaign trail. That was when they travelled to the Northern Territory to announce the Coalition would end Chinese firm Landbridge’s long-term lease of the Port of Darwin.
The only time he has made national news during the campaign was when comments he made in 2018 – saying he did not believe women should serve in close combat roles – resurfaced after the Liberal candidate for Whitlam was disendorsed after making similar remarks.
Hastie’s absence has been noticed by Anthony Albanese, who taunted Hastie about his absence from the campaign on Monday.
Albanese said the Coalition frontbench was made up of “leftovers” from the Morrison government, and that “anyone with a remotely moderate view has been chased out” of the Liberal Party.
“There is chaos on their side. They have senior shadow ministers who haven’t been sighted,” the prime minister said at a press conference in Batemans Bay on Monday morning. “I don’t know where Andrew Hastie’s been. He’s the shadow defence minister.”
Instead, opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman and home affairs spokesman James Paterson have taken the lead on the Indonesia-Russia defence co-operation story.
Coleman on Tuesday accused Labor of “obfuscation, deception and trickery” on the issue, as he continued to hound the government to provide a briefing on when it learnt about the alleged Russian request. Indonesia’s defence minister has denied the reports but the military journalist who broke the story insists his report was accurate and well-sourced.
Alongside shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, Hastie’s name has been floated as one of the Liberal MPs most likely to take over from Dutton if he loses the election and eventually relinquishes the party leadership. First, though, he has to hold on to his seat. Hastie’s social media accounts show he has been almost solely focused on local issues like hospital and transport funding in his Perth electorate of Canning, which he holds on a slender margin of just 1.2 per cent.
A YouGov poll published at the end of March showed Hastie ahead 52-48 against Labor in his seat, which he has held since a byelection victory in 2015. Labor believes its popularity in Western Australia will help secure a second term in government, and the party held its campaign launch in Perth for a second year in a row to demonstrate its commitment to the west.
Hastie’s absence from the national campaign is set to end soon. The Coalition is expected to announce a promised increase in defence spending this week before Anzac Day. This will put Hastie in the national spotlight, and expose him to scrutiny from defence experts who fear the Coalition will make only a relatively minor bid to outspend Labor on defence.
